LONDON — Britain has been warned that Taiwan is an “inseparable part of China” after holding one-on-one trade talks with a senior Taiwanese trade official.
Taiwan’s chief trade negotiator met his British counterparts in mid-June to discuss bilateral trade between the two countries and seek advice on the Asian island’s bid to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement trade bloc. Global and Progressive (CPTPP) of 11 nations. .
But Beijing issued a warning to London after Taipei Minister John Deng met with British officials.
“Taiwan is an inseparable part of China, it is not a country universally recognized by the international community,” a Chinese diplomatic spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party sees “reunification with Taiwan,” a self-governing island, as a key political goal.
Deng met with “economic and trade officials” from the British government during his visit to London from June 16-18, a spokesperson for the Taipei representative office in the United Kingdom confirmed to POLITICO. Their discussions focused on “subjects such as the CPTPP and trade relations”, they added.
The UK Commerce Department – which did not make the meeting public – confirmed that Deng had met with UK economics and trade officials, but did not give details of the discussions.
The two countries are working to intensify trade relations and Taiwan is seeking advice from Britain as it is also working to join the CPTPP.
Britain has been working on the process to join the CPTPP since submitting its application in early 2021. Official-level discussions on its application took place in Sydney in June and further meetings are planned in Tokyo. in July.
Taiwan submitted an official application to join the CPTPP last September a week after Beijing submitted an application to join the group. China has claimed Taiwan since rivals from the Chinese Communist Party fled there and claimed the island as a sovereign state after losing the country’s civil war in 1949.
The meeting comes at a sensitive time for UK-China relations, amid growing opposition to Beijing from key Conservative lawmakers.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told Times Radio late last week that the world must “learn lessons from Ukraine” when it comes to Taiwan. The free world, she said, must “ensure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself, that we continue to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait.”
China has said it “resolutely” opposes Taiwan’s efforts to become a member of the CPTPP. The Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing warned against “any country maintaining diplomatic relations with [China] negotiate and sign with Taiwan any agreement having a sense of sovereignty and having an official character”.
Total trade in goods and services between Britain and Taiwan was £8.3 billion in 2021.
politico Gt